Permafrost coasts are susceptible to the combined effects of declining sea ice extent, increases in open water duration, more frequent and impactful storms, sea-level rise, and warming permafrost. That causes them to erode but it’s a complex business.
Benjamin M Jones and colleagues examined satellite observations of a 9 km segment of coastline at Drew Point, Beaufort Sea coast, Alaska. Mean annual erosion for 2007–2016 was 17.2 m yr−1, which is 2.5 times faster than historic rates. The lack of significant correlations between mean open water season erosion and the environmental variables compiled in this study highlight the complexities associated with changing coastal permafrost bluffs in the Arctic.
Find out more in this video abstract Benjamin M Jones et al
Video courtesy CC-BY 3.0, Benjamin M Jones et al 2018 Environ. Res. Lett. 13 115001 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aae471
